On the Heels of "Royals" Success, Lorde Plots 2014 U.S. Tour

Dec 20, 2013 4:31 PM by Alyssa

Tour Announcement

Before the song “Royals” was officially released in March 2013, Ella Yelich-O’Connor was a largely unknown teenager from New Zealand. Fast-forward less than a year, and Lorde (Yelich-O’Connor’s stage name) is now an international sensation gearing up for her first major solo tour in 2014.

Lorde’s debut single “Royals” has been one of the most successful songs of 2013, spending more than 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with nine of those weeks at No. 1. She also is the youngest solo musician to top the Billboard Hot 100 in more than 25 years, and, to date, she is the first artist from New Zealand to earn the No. 1 position. “Royals” also was impressively the first track by a solo female artist to top the U.S. Alternative chart in 17 years. As of Dec. 20, it has been certified Platinum four times in the United States alone.

“Royals,” like many of Lorde’s songs, has been praised for its honest songwriting. The singer revealed in an interview with VH1 that the inspiration for the hit song came in part from seeing an old photo of a Kansas City Royals baseball player in an issue of “National Geographic.” The image of the word inspired her, as did her existing fascination with historical aristocrats, like Marie Antoinette. Lorde also has credited her experiences with friends and youth culture as a major source of inspiration for much of her work, including her latest surprise single “No Better,” which dropped unexpectedly on Dec. 13.

As lists for the best music of 2013 continue to roll out, Lorde has been consistently cited as one of the year’s top artists from sites like NPR, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club, the New York Times, and more. When GRAMMY nominations were announced on Dec. 6, it also was no surprise to see Lorde was featured on the list of nominees several times. “Royals” was, of course, nominated for Record of the Year. The track also was nominated for Song of the Year, with a songwriting credit for Yelich-O’Connor, whose mother is incidentally a celebrated poet in their native New Zealand. Lorde has also been nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album for her EP “Pure Heroine.”

As the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter heads into the second year of her career, she’ll embark on a month-long tour of the U.S. beginnign March 3 in Austin, Texas. Fifteen cities have been confirmed for the venture, and the artist has already added extra concerts at New York’s Roseland Ballroom (March 10-12) and the Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif. (March 26-27). View the full tour schedule below, and be sure to check the Vivid Seats marketplace for added dates and a wide selection of Lorde tickets for the upcoming concerts.

The artist recently confirmed via a Reddit Ask Me Anything on Dec. 15 that she would be on the lineup of at least one major festival in the U.S. this year, but no lineups have been confirmed yet. So far, though, none of her tour dates conflict with major festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, or Bonnaroo.